Those of you who know me, know that I'm sailboat addicted. I own 11 sailboats, not counting the Hobie 16 that I cut into pieces yesterday.
Sadly, I never have time to sail any of them except the Columbia 8.7, a heavy keel boat.
Well, today, that changed. I trailered the Aqua Cat 12.5 (12 1/2 foot catamaran) over to Swift Creek Resevoir, and a friend let me use a private ramp to launch.
I'm used to sailing in the big boat, averaging maybe 4 or 5 knots. This little bugger was flying in the teens with less than 10mph winds. I was amazed at how fast it seemed. The only other time I've ever sailed a small boat was 40 years ago. That was a Sailfish, and I couldn't figure out how to find the wind, so, just sat at the end of the dock for half an hour.
THIS little sucker was 1/2 a mile down the lake before I even figured out how to release the mainsheet without falling overboard.
So, now that I've sailed this one, I really want to get the Hobie 16 finished. I just need to do some minor repairs to the trampoline, and pick up a cheap set of sails that fit. I had purchased a set of Prindle 16 sails, but they don''t quite fit.
Anybody have an extra set?
I'm also working on a Hobie 18, doing some repair on the hulls. That should really be a great sailing experience.
Okay....back to Craigslist to find sails.
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